Go on his discord. Anything else that you can't get fixed on your own, he's got many people in it that helped me on a couple ratty wiring cases in my 1970s condo. Very helpful they are
Thank you for thoroughly explaining how the travelers are in the same sheath. Understanding how something works makes it so much easier to remember the process when swapping these out.
Finally a video that solved our problem! Switching out to all new 3-way Leviton Dimmers and 3-way Leviton switches. Used a no touch voltage tester to test for the hot wire like every other video we watched said to do, only the "hot" wire changed with the position of the other switch, or we had multiple "hot" wires based on the freaking beeping tool. Haha! FIVE frustrating hours later and we finally stumbled on to your video. Why don't the Leviton videos tell you that the travelers come out of the same sheathing? THANK YOU for making this very easy to understand video. Made quick work of the rest of the switches we changed out.
" When you can explain something simply, then you understand it well enough." This was the video that gave me the knowledge that I needed to fix a 3 way in my house. Nicely done, good sir!! I am very happy now. This video gets a like, and I am following your channel. Great job!!
thank you!! that was such a simple explanation the 2 travelers come from the same sheathing, the other wire is hot and goes on black... so simple.. great video!!
I put my three way switch in upside down 20 years ago, finally got around to replacing it with a new switch right side up, works great. Took two days to test and slowly understand how it works. Bought a non contact voltage detector with built in flashlight, it's a must have.
Had to watch a few different videos before this one finally solved my problem. Moved into a new place and the 3 way switches were incorrectly wired. The simple yet crucial explanation of how to figure out which wire goes where when you don't know/forgot where it goes was the key.
@@Grynjolf Are they color coded? If you didn't take a picture of how they were originally wired, black typically is your hot, red would be your traveler. But try to consult someone who can visually inspect it or has the equipment to verify.
Love this video! Helps make much more sense diagnosing and troubleshooting for me. Most guides are based on PROPER colors, wire setups, etc. And I’m probably not alone in saying the previous home owner of my house did not do things “Proper”. Keep up the incredible content and spreading knowledge my friend!
Thank you for explaining it without a lot of irrelevant information. Your clear instructions with great video makes it much easier for us DIY homeowners.
Super helpful tips re: the travelers (using the same sheathing - and both going to gold terms) and the "feed" on its own and going to the black term. :)
OMG this was the best and easiest to understand...I wish I had found this video before I paid someone to do the first one...I did the other ones after watching this!
I would love to see some more industrial type videos from you. Motor control stuff would be cool. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a plc cabinet or some crazy relay logic stuff.
I've worked on some express type car washes from the ground up. Motor controls are very detailed and intricate. Vfd's, inverters, lots of low volts, etc. Then the programming involved. I mean, it's a lot, which is probably why he hasn't took the time to make a video on it.
Thank you! A quick solution to the problem i was having with a replacement 3-way switch. I did not know the placement of the two hot wires mattered. I do now👍
Thanks for posting this informative video. I replaced my 3W switch just like the original in the wall. took a pic so i was sure to put wires in correct position. BUT the original switch had the black screw on top, my new switch had the black screw on the bottom. Geez, you saved me!
Amazing video as usual! Can you please do a video on wiring a four-way switch or five way switch so to speak anything higher than a three-way. I think it would really help a lot of us with the way you explain things so well! Much love, and happy new year!
This is where pulling different colored wire through conduit is very helpful: yellow and orange are single pole single throw (on/off. Single circuit) and the brown wires are travelers (single pole/double throw). If I were doing work in the land of Romax, I would be labeling Both the outer jacket, when necessary, and the individual wires with colored tape. Romax without labeling can become extremely difficult
Great video band I finally learned how to tell which one goes on the black and which go on the gold. Because at the house that I bought there is only ground, white, and black. So I have 3 black and 1 white.
Thank you. I really like and will remember the insights about the 12-3 sleeve with two wires (red traveler) versus the 12-2 with a single (black) sleeve.
I needed this for some reason my red wire is the hot wire. My previous switch had the red on the black screw. But you tip on. Che kick the sheathing was spot on. Thanks
What if you are working in an old house and your box is jammed with 7 wires that all look black? Took me two months and major wall removal to figure it out. Haha “same sheathing”? What if there is NO sheathing. PLEASE make a video about troubleshooting. A swap in same for same with tips is good. But I need more. (Love your videos, this three way just brings back bad memories)
I know this was posted a year ago, however, in this case you could measure continuity between both ends of the cables and start labeling them with white, green, red, blue and yellow tape on the ends
Should check with non-contact voltage tester. 1) You can never be sure you have found the correct breaker - especially in old houses which are more likely to require the switch to be replaced and 2) As in this example there are other wires in the box that could be live.
How are you doing hope that everything is going well for You. I'm very pleased with you patience ,the way exactly how you explained step by step all that We need to know. I'm very proud to keep learning from your experience ✨️ THANKS AGAIN
The switch will have 5 screws on it - 2 black, 2 brass / gold and 1 green. The black screws are one set, the brass screws are a second set. One set of travelers go onto one set of screws. I generally try to rough in the wires so that one set is physically separate from the other (like one set in the top, the other in the bottom) but it that isn't possible, I band one set of travelers with a strip of electrical tape (usually yellow) to identify what two belong to the same set.
Um, 4 way has 4 screws. Depending on the age of the 4way switch the wires coming from one point will be either on one side or the top side. The only switch I saw with 5 terminals is a 3way and a single pole switch.
Easiest explanation for a 4-way switch is that it's an intersection for travelers. Instead of travelers going from one 3-way to another they go to an intersecting box, giving you a third switch or more. 4-way switches are purchased in a box and that box has instructions printed on the inside.
This is why I prefer to use conduit with three-way switching so I can use colored travelers (yellow/orange) to differentiate them from the hot/neutral/ground wiring. I've seen three-phase Romex that has brown/orange/yellow, but have never been able to find it and I expect it is more expensive
I recommend not to use those three colors, brown, orange, yellow. Though it's not code electricians speak the same language and those three colors generally represent 277V/480V. They also can represent the three different phases in parallel circuits. So if an electrician saw those three colors in a home he may think 277V/480V. The three colors to use in a home is black, red, blue. Blue is generally used in three phase, but it's 120V/208V. And since homes use 120V/240V blue is an acceptable color in home applications. I only use blue on whites that are not being used as neutrals. A sharpie works well to rephrase to blue. The two colors you'll want to use as travelers, if using conduit, to differentiate from black, white, ground is red and blue. That's what's commonly used in home applications. No need to start confusing some people when you choose to sell your house.
Dear home gamers, please check for voltage at the switch AND outlet AFTER you flip the breaker and BEFORE you start touching wires. Standards change, people make mistakes, and the right wire colors change. For a regular switch, you need to test all possible combinations in case someone flipped a wire around somewhere: Hot-Neutral Hot-Ground Neutral-Ground For a 3-way switch you have some more wires to check. I skip the neutrals because they are really just tucked in the back of the back of the box and along for the ride and not connected to the switch, which leaves (Colors used instead of type): Black 1-Black 2 Black 1-Red Black 1-Ground Black 2-Red Black 2-Ground Red-Ground I bet there are a lot of people thinking that's WAY too many wire combinations to check, and that's up to you. Just keep in mind, if YOU think it's too many wires to check for safety, SOMEONE ELSE might have thought the same thing when they worked on it before you.
Awesome ! I have had to correct this problem before, but it was just trial and error til I got it right. Way too much time that way. This makes too much sense. Makes me feel like a doofus for not having figured it out myself.
Excellent video! You saved me some time and money on this one. Thank you 🙏 And can you tell me where you purchased those cool tool waste bags, I can’t find them anywhere?
I don't know if you realize that how you explain things is very easy for me to understand. I am trying to relearn how to wire things. Long story short I fell and got a concussion, well I forgot how to do wiring. I forgot some other things too, but some of the stuff is coming back, not all of it. Little by little.
Thank you so much! Well explained. I have several of these switches that are older models in a house that I bought a few years ago. I would like to ask if joining this channel would give me access to answers to any questions that may pop up during the replacement/removal process ? TIA! Oh and by the way, I love my Electrician U T-shirt! Lightweight and comfortable.
I always use one of those generic porcelain lamp bases in the center of the room. That way I just run a string between the light and each doorway. 1️⃣ 2️⃣ 3️⃣ 😆 Seriously, nice explanation.
Justin your the man. I hope you continue to do well. How is your son doing I hope he loves doing what you do. On torque specs we can rely on appendix I in the NEC 2023 code (Handbook version) for devices that don’t necessarily have torque specs.
Thanks - short and sweet. It will be easy to remember. On the 3-way switch that mates with the first one, which wire goes on the black screw. The one going to the light or the device?
Did a 6 way recently it was a nightmare! Not licensed but love electrical and was noticed by kleintools a few years back. Love your videos they help with stuff I’m not 100% sure on! Thank you!
If you have enough length, twist the 3 wire (black and red) like a twizzler, so that for future, you always know without having to dig in the box to find out which black wire
Before disconnecting any thing I write on the drywall what goes where. I'll do a quick drawing of a three way and label the poles. Learned to never rely on short term memory. Just a slight distraction can blow out short term memory.
Finally, I can fix a switch in the basement that I messed up years ago and didn’t know how to fix. Thanks for this video. You’re a great teacher.
Go on his discord. Anything else that you can't get fixed on your own, he's got many people in it that helped me on a couple ratty wiring cases in my 1970s condo. Very helpful they are
@@yOURCHRIST thank you Chris!
I literally JUST commented the same thing. He has a simplistic yet prolific style of teaching.
This is by far the best 3-way switch explanation on RUclips. Great video
Couldn't agree more. 👏
Absolutely agree! Never would have thought about the travelers being in the same sheathing.
Thank you for thoroughly explaining how the travelers are in the same sheath. Understanding how something works makes it so much easier to remember the process when swapping these out.
I came in here to say the same thing. That one little tip makes this the best three-way switch RUclips video out there!
Finally a video that solved our problem! Switching out to all new 3-way Leviton Dimmers and 3-way Leviton switches. Used a no touch voltage tester to test for the hot wire like every other video we watched said to do, only the "hot" wire changed with the position of the other switch, or we had multiple "hot" wires based on the freaking beeping tool. Haha! FIVE frustrating hours later and we finally stumbled on to your video. Why don't the Leviton videos tell you that the travelers come out of the same sheathing? THANK YOU for making this very easy to understand video. Made quick work of the rest of the switches we changed out.
" When you can explain something simply, then you understand it well enough." This was the video that gave me the knowledge that I needed to fix a 3 way in my house. Nicely done, good sir!! I am very happy now. This video gets a like, and I am following your channel. Great job!!
thank you!! that was such a simple explanation the 2 travelers come from the same sheathing, the other wire is hot and goes on black... so simple.. great video!!
I put my three way switch in upside down 20 years ago, finally got around to replacing it with a new switch right side up, works great.
Took two days to test and slowly understand how it works. Bought a non contact voltage detector with built in flashlight, it's a must have.
Had to watch a few different videos before this one finally solved my problem. Moved into a new place and the 3 way switches were incorrectly wired. The simple yet crucial explanation of how to figure out which wire goes where when you don't know/forgot where it goes was the key.
This is one of the best videos to help for this! 3:20-4:00 is key information! Simple and specific. Thank you!
Except for some reason one of my switches has all 3 going into the same sheath. Idk what to do!
@@Grynjolf Are they color coded? If you didn't take a picture of how they were originally wired, black typically is your hot, red would be your traveler. But try to consult someone who can visually inspect it or has the equipment to verify.
This is exactly what I needed to know. Thanks for not telling me how to wire a house, just how to tell which wires are which. Good job!
Finally someone that explains the hot wire and step by step best video for a 3 way switch!
Love this video! Helps make much more sense diagnosing and troubleshooting for me. Most guides are based on PROPER colors, wire setups, etc. And I’m probably not alone in saying the previous home owner of my house did not do things “Proper”. Keep up the incredible content and spreading knowledge my friend!
Thank you for explaining it without a lot of irrelevant information. Your clear instructions with great video makes it much easier for us DIY homeowners.
Great advice: The two travelers come from the same Romex cable and the single hot or leg comes from another Romex cable.
This is the description where the "light" came on for me. 👍👍
Good video. We have now successfully replaced 45 switches (single, three and four pole) on our first floor. Thanks!
Thank You Sir! My wife and I are old people 3-way switches were reversed. We now can live in our house.
A great video for homeowners and apprentices. One of the first things I learned was how to properly wire and install a 3-way.
I find that switch loops are the lessons I have to keep refreshing myself with the most of my apprenticeship. 😄
Thank you so much, no one else explained the wires properly and where each should go from what sheathing. Helped alot
Best video about this hands down. Thank you for posting this!
Appreciate you making this so easy to understand. Simple lesson for my simple mind and I finally got my 3-way working!
Great explanation!! Finally a video that brakes it down and simplifies things. Bravo.
This is one of the best videos I have seen This guy is a GREAT teacher!
So far best video I’ve seen 👍🏼 you did awesome explaining it
Super helpful tips re: the travelers (using the same sheathing - and both going to gold terms) and the "feed" on its own and going to the black term. :)
Thank you very much for simplifying this for me. I was stuck on this for a while
OMG this was the best and easiest to understand...I wish I had found this video before I paid someone to do the first one...I did the other ones after watching this!
I would love to see some more industrial type videos from you. Motor control stuff would be cool. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a plc cabinet or some crazy relay logic stuff.
I've worked on some express type car washes from the ground up. Motor controls are very detailed and intricate. Vfd's, inverters, lots of low volts, etc. Then the programming involved. I mean, it's a lot, which is probably why he hasn't took the time to make a video on it.
Love it. I especially appreciate the tip that the two travelers are on the same wire.
Best video out there. Thank you. Got me through a simple problem.
Thank you! A quick solution to the problem i was having with a replacement 3-way switch. I did not know the placement of the two hot wires mattered. I do now👍
Clear, concise, and extremely helpful. Thank you.!
Great work explaining it. Explaining that the two hots come from the same insulated line and can go in either gold screw was key.
Thanks for posting this informative video. I replaced my 3W switch just like the original in the wall. took a pic so i was sure to put wires in correct position. BUT the original switch had the black screw on top, my new switch had the black screw on the bottom. Geez, you saved me!
Amazing video as usual! Can you please do a video on wiring a four-way switch or five way switch so to speak anything higher than a three-way. I think it would really help a lot of us with the way you explain things so well! Much love, and happy new year!
This is where pulling different colored wire through conduit is very helpful: yellow and orange are single pole single throw (on/off. Single circuit) and the brown wires are travelers (single pole/double throw). If I were doing work in the land of Romax, I would be labeling Both the outer jacket, when necessary, and the individual wires with colored tape. Romax without labeling can become extremely difficult
Finally fix my hallway light. Thank you so much.
Great video. been doing maintenance for 8 years and never knew this !
Thank you for pointing that out ! Just learned a lil more about the process
Great video band I finally learned how to tell which one goes on the black and which go on the gold. Because at the house that I bought there is only ground, white, and black. So I have 3 black and 1 white.
Thank you. I really like and will remember the insights about the 12-3 sleeve with two wires (red traveler) versus the 12-2 with a single (black) sleeve.
I love you and your simplistic teaching strategy. However, I still need you to come over. Thanks!
I needed this for some reason my red wire is the hot wire. My previous switch had the red on the black screw. But you tip on. Che kick the sheathing was spot on. Thanks
Great explanation! 3 way switches always get me. Figuring iut the 2 wires in the same cable are the travellers made sense finally! Thanks much.....
Thank you this helped with my old house where the color of the wires means nothing.
What if you are working in an old house and your box is jammed with 7 wires that all look black? Took me two months and major wall removal to figure it out. Haha “same sheathing”? What if there is NO sheathing. PLEASE make a video about troubleshooting. A swap in same for same with tips is good. But I need more. (Love your videos, this three way just brings back bad memories)
I know this was posted a year ago, however, in this case you could measure continuity between both ends of the cables and start labeling them with white, green, red, blue and yellow tape on the ends
Exactly what I needed today. Thank you. Clear and concise.
THANK YOU!!!!! I finally understood how to fix the wiring!!! I had one switch turning off a light it had no business turning off lol!
Bro !!!!! Thanks.. Your teaching abilities are perfect… thanks for the simple and to the point explanation..
Ay yooo. Had to come back and see how you decipher a three way switch…. Because I’m sure it will be simple and ingenious
Damn. Other videos showed the hot on gold and now I gotta redo all of them to black. Good channel.
Should check with non-contact voltage tester. 1) You can never be sure you have found the correct breaker - especially in old houses which are more likely to require the switch to be replaced and 2) As in this example there are other wires in the box that could be live.
How are you doing hope that everything is going well for You. I'm very pleased with you patience ,the way exactly how you explained step by step all that We need to know. I'm very proud to keep learning from your experience ✨️ THANKS AGAIN
You did such an awesome job explaining everything!!
This was a master class. Awesome teacher!
You had me at 3way 😉😉😉
I be interested in seeing how a four-way switch set up is done. Great video and cleared up some questions I had regarding 3- way switches.
The switch will have 5 screws on it - 2 black, 2 brass / gold and 1 green. The black screws are one set, the brass screws are a second set. One set of travelers go onto one set of screws.
I generally try to rough in the wires so that one set is physically separate from the other (like one set in the top, the other in the bottom) but it that isn't possible, I band one set of travelers with a strip of electrical tape (usually yellow) to identify what two belong to the same set.
Um, 4 way has 4 screws. Depending on the age of the 4way switch the wires coming from one point will be either on one side or the top side.
The only switch I saw with 5 terminals is a 3way and a single pole switch.
Easiest explanation for a 4-way switch is that it's an intersection for travelers. Instead of travelers going from one 3-way to another they go to an intersecting box, giving you a third switch or more. 4-way switches are purchased in a box and that box has instructions printed on the inside.
Thank you for the useful information, I fixed a switch that my contractor originally installed.
Thanks for this video! I messed up a three way in kitchen and it was driving me crazy!
This is why I prefer to use conduit with three-way switching so I can use colored travelers (yellow/orange) to differentiate them from the hot/neutral/ground wiring. I've seen three-phase Romex that has brown/orange/yellow, but have never been able to find it and I expect it is more expensive
I recommend not to use those three colors, brown, orange, yellow. Though it's not code electricians speak the same language and those three colors generally represent 277V/480V. They also can represent the three different phases in parallel circuits. So if an electrician saw those three colors in a home he may think
277V/480V. The three colors to use in a home is black, red, blue. Blue is generally used in three phase, but it's 120V/208V. And since homes use 120V/240V blue is an acceptable color in home applications. I only use blue on whites that are not being used as neutrals. A sharpie works well to rephrase to blue.
The two colors you'll want to use as travelers, if using conduit, to differentiate from black, white, ground is red and blue. That's what's commonly used in home applications. No need to start confusing some people when you choose to sell your house.
Is it really that hard for you or that confusing to you to label wires having tape with writing on it?
Dear home gamers, please check for voltage at the switch AND outlet AFTER you flip the breaker and BEFORE you start touching wires. Standards change, people make mistakes, and the right wire colors change. For a regular switch, you need to test all possible combinations in case someone flipped a wire around somewhere:
Hot-Neutral
Hot-Ground
Neutral-Ground
For a 3-way switch you have some more wires to check. I skip the neutrals because they are really just tucked in the back of the back of the box and along for the ride and not connected to the switch, which leaves (Colors used instead of type):
Black 1-Black 2
Black 1-Red
Black 1-Ground
Black 2-Red
Black 2-Ground
Red-Ground
I bet there are a lot of people thinking that's WAY too many wire combinations to check, and that's up to you. Just keep in mind, if YOU think it's too many wires to check for safety, SOMEONE ELSE might have thought the same thing when they worked on it before you.
Thank you so much I rate this video 100
Very informative and easy to understand. Thank you.
Very instructional...How would "replace" a 3-way switch with a switch/combination device. Thank You.
Thanks for this video and thorough explanation. I needed it!
Awesome ! I have had to correct this problem before, but it was just trial and error til I got it right. Way too much time that way. This makes too much sense. Makes me feel like a doofus for not having figured it out myself.
Excellent video! You saved me some time and money on this one. Thank you 🙏 And can you tell me where you purchased those cool tool waste bags, I can’t find them anywhere?
Your video was a super help for me, thanks.
On man, you really saved me today! A million thanks for this video....
I don't know if you realize that how you explain things is very easy for me to understand. I am trying to relearn how to wire things. Long story short I fell and got a concussion, well I forgot how to do wiring. I forgot some other things too, but some of the stuff is coming back, not all of it. Little by little.
Thank you so much! Well explained. I have several of these switches that are older models in a house that I bought a few years ago. I would like to ask if joining this channel would give me access to answers to any questions that may pop up during the replacement/removal process ? TIA! Oh and by the way, I love my Electrician U T-shirt! Lightweight and comfortable.
Great explanation as usual ... These type vids really help people ... Thx ...
Thank you for this explanation. Very helpful!
Thank you for explaining this and in a way i can understand it. God bless you.
Thanks i had the two black wires backwards. It would blow the fuses when i used one side of the switch. Thanks for explaining this!
really great video!! Thank you!
I always use one of those generic porcelain lamp bases in the center of the room. That way I just run a string between the light and each doorway.
1️⃣
2️⃣
3️⃣
😆
Seriously, nice explanation.
Great video. Great explanation. Thank you
Justin your the man. I hope you continue to do well. How is your son doing I hope he loves doing what you do. On torque specs we can rely on appendix I in the NEC 2023 code (Handbook version) for devices that don’t necessarily have torque specs.
suppppper easy to understand. thanks a bunch!!
It worked!😄. Thanks!
Awesome. Thank you, Dustin.
Thank you sir. You are appreciated
Tha.k you so much for the quick explanation. Very detailed. Thank you
Thank you for sharing the knowledge!
Thanks - short and sweet. It will be easy to remember. On the 3-way switch that mates with the first one, which wire goes on the black screw. The one going to the light or the device?
Thanks you are a life saver! Wished i looked at this video earlier.
I concur, you are a wonderful teacher
Thank you! Great video
Thanks so much for your videos man
They’ve helped out so much at my job ! 👏🏻
Did a 6 way recently it was a nightmare! Not licensed but love electrical and was noticed by kleintools a few years back. Love your videos they help with stuff I’m not 100% sure on! Thank you!
No such thing as a 6-way. Do you mean 6 locations using 3-way and 4-way switches? That application would take two 3-ways and four 4-ways.
@@TheForgottenMan270 sure
Thank you 🙏 for this video
If you have enough length, twist the 3 wire (black and red) like a twizzler, so that for future, you always know without having to dig in the box to find out which black wire
Or do one wire at the time.
Remove one from old switch and put it imediatly on the new switch.
Before disconnecting any thing I write on the drywall what goes where. I'll do a quick drawing of a three way and label the poles. Learned to never rely on short term memory. Just a slight distraction can blow out short term memory.
This was very helpful thank you
Nice explanation. Thanks for sharing.
Perfect 👍 hey, you think you can do a video on how to add an extra light on your ring floodlight camera
Great Chanel 👍 👌 what kind of bags are those!?
Thank you I think I get. Mine had 3 black ones!! I was so confused I get now I think
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. It’s a great video very informative.